


Hairs As Heavy As Bricks

by littleredtriskelion



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Buzz Cut Stiles Stilinski, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Helpful Derek, M/M, Post-Nogitsune Stiles Stilinski, post-season 3b, really sad haircut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 21:49:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8914132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleredtriskelion/pseuds/littleredtriskelion
Summary: Derek's got a surprise visitor, and he discovers that a haircut can be as powerful as a time machine.





	

Derek took it as a testament to his growth that he didn't immediately go into defense mode at the sound of an uninvited heartbeat in his loft. Quite frankly, it proved just how quiet things had been in town, that he could relax enough not to wake up from his nap as soon as the intruder had entered.

  
He sighed, grudgingly slipping out of bed and trudging downstairs - whoever had let themselves in clearly wasn't a threat, since they hadn't taken the easy route of slitting his throat while he slept. That was always a good sign.

  
"I need it off."

  
Derek froze at the bottom of his stairs, assessing the familiar hunched figure taking up space on his couch. Stiles seemed...wrong. Too still, his heartbeat too slow, his scent sour and mingled with so many emotions that Derek thought he might choke. He took a few more silent steps forward, until the dull light from the rising moon created a hard glint in Stiles' hand.

  
A set of clippers clutched in Stiles' grip, the human's thumb pressed against the on switch, like it was waiting for someone to scream go. "I need it _off_ ," Stiles repeated brokenly, his fist trembling as he clutched plastic handle harder.

  
Derek thought back to how Stiles' hair had been when they'd first met, buzzed short, nothing for him to anxiously tug and pull at when things got tough. Something he'd been doing a lot of, if the wild mess on his head was anything to go by. It had grown out during the summer that Derek tried his best to forget, the one where he'd lost...and after that, there had been Alphas, and the nogitsune, and everything else that they were poorly equipped to deal with, and Stiles' hair had stayed long.

  
And now he needed it off.

  
Wordlessly, Derek approached, gently prising the clippers from Stiles' hand and trusting that he would follow as he lead the way back up and through the loft, only pausing to pick up a chair. The clippers were warm and a little slippery from where Stiles' hand had clutched them, and he wondered how long this had been on the other's mind, how often he'd toyed with the clippers and contemplated the pros and cons of going through with it. Derek knew he'd done it - even the most impulsive of Stiles' actions were well calculated, his go-with-the-flow attitude was a ruse that Derek had deciphered a long time ago.

  
"Sit here. Face the sink," Derek softly instructed, placing the back of the chair against the edge of the sink, watching as Stiles obediently straddled the chair so that he could do as Derek instructed, which was worrying in itself. Stiles couldn't even flip a light switch at Derek's request without arguing about it first. The wolf grabbed a nearby towel, lightly draping it around Stiles' neck before gently tipping the human's head down. "You sure about this?" There'd be no going back in a minute, there was no harm in checking. 

"Please."

  
The soft buzz of the clipper's was the only reply Derek deemed necessary, and they both stayed silent as brown hairs tumbled into the sink, hurtling through the air like they were heavy as bricks; and from the way the tension in Stiles' shoulders slowly eased away, it would be fair to assume they were as heavy as they looked.

  
"It's done." Derek murmured, the soft click echoing through the room as the buzzing stopped. Stiles slowly looked up, and he thought again of the boy he'd met so long ago. It was startling, to think of how much had changed since then; of how significiant the hair in the sink had really been.

  
"Thanks," Stiles murmured, a slow smile spreading on his face, and just for a moment, Derek thought he might get to meet that boy from so long ago all over again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thought it was time to do a little drabble so that I could try to get back into the swing of writing again. I'm not gonna promise constant updates (cause that's a promise I'll break literally a second after making it), but it feels good to actually post something again, so we'll see what happens.


End file.
